Ashan and I walked in on the ball hand in hand. My entrance was the most important of the night. It determined whether the ball was a success or not since a noble's presence was a key factor in high society.
"Please welcome her majesty, princess Eleanor, with her on this wonderful night is the foreign prince of Jamila." The announcer presented the two, they took a bow and walked down the entrance steps.
The nobles attending the ball clapped for the two but quickly the nobles began to glare at the two together. Whispers ran through the crowd discussing the sight of their unpleasant outfits. However, the two remained confident making their way through the crowd.
The atmosphere was intense like it always was. People seemed to admire me when it was useful, yet they would turn to look at me in dismay. I felt like a robot having to keep up an unattainable standard for people who didn't care for me. Can Ashan understand this feeling too?
Ashan grabbed Eleanor's waist and began to dance while smiling devilishly at the nobles talking badly about them. "Eleanor, you truly surprised me with your strong demeanor as we walked down the path of the nobles." In a whisper, he said, "You are the star of the show tonight make sure never to forget that."
The couple danced for three more songs before being interrupted by a man neither of them knew. "Hello, your majesty, I believe this is the first time we are meeting." As he slowly nudged Ashan away.
Ashan pointed to the table where he and Eleanor were assigned to sit. "My lady, I'll be sitting at our table." Eyeing the uninvited guest, "Come sit down once you're finished speaking to that man, don't get too bored while I'm gone." Ashan brushed through his hair with his hand and winked.
"Shall we get started dancing?"
I grabbed the man's hand and began to dance. I wanted to avoid any more glares from the nobles. If I reject this man to dance, high society will drag me into flames to make me seem unfit to become empress.
"Who are you? I've never met you before."
"I am Thee Zhao Jiang...a businessman from the East. You should remember it because we'll be seeing each other more often."
"What do you mean by that?"
Zhao lowered his head to Eleanor's ear, "The plan you'll be discussing with Ace has a lot to do with me. If you didn't know, my development company will be a key factor in this plan." A pause occurred, "I should stop whispering now...the nobles love to watch you."
The two continued to dance for another song. Eleanor began to analyze the odd man she just met. The first thing she noticed was his long jet black hair that looked silky, his dark sharp eyes that were comparable to Ashan's, and his slim lengthy body. Another thing she found his beautifully designed clothing interesting was. The Princess had seen drawings of what he was wearing when she was a child, but she never had the opportunity to see it in person before. Though it was slightly different than what she's seen...the difference was he wore pants and boots with his traditional top. It resembled his home country's style combined with Gaia's fashion.
Zhao began to laugh, "Watch what I'm about to do."
Zhao walked away from the princess' grasp and walked toward the announcer with the magical device known to project one's voice, a microphone. He snatched the microphone from the announcer's hand and began to speak. "Hello everyone, since you all were so curious about my conversation with the crown princess, I'll just tell you what we were talking about instead of you all badly attempting to overhear and glare at the two of us." Zhao talked in an annoyed tone. "So," placing his hands together, "shall I begin? Or will you return to minding your own business?" The nobles continued to glare. "Lady Savia, you still seem intrigued for some reason...should I tell the others about the news regarding your missing maids?" The crowd was stunned and turned to Lady Savia.
I never knew this man had such a bold personality. I haven't met such interesting people until earlier this morning. The days to come shall be getting interesting.
"How about Viscount Lucian? Should I mention a potential child in another town?"
The viscount in the crowd moved forward and began to yell, "You insolent foreigner! You are a disgrace being here."
"Now...calm down. How come you like to spread rumors of your own, yet you get angry about the truth. It truly is laughable don't you think. Ahh...you are one boring, pitiful, and hateful crowd. Why don't you all go back and dance because if you don't I can continue the list of likely truths to be exposed." Zhao smirked.
Zhao skipped down the dozens of steps with such confidence as his foreign attire bounced up. The princess watched him walk towards his table with such interest in the middle of the stunned dance floor of people. Ashan noticed she was left on the dance floor and eagerly walked towards Eleanor and grabbed her hand. "Shall we eat now? You must be famished."
The two walked toward their table adorned with flowers and dimly lit candles. Eleanor noticed a familiar face.
As they sat down, the familiar person spoke, "Wow, Eleanor, how long has it been since we last spoke?"
"Ace! I haven't seen you in over a year! I think it was last year's ball that my father threw...maybe my timing is off." The princess noticed Ashan eagerly waiting to be introduced, "I almost forgot to introduce him. The man to my left is known as The crown prince of Jamilla, Ashan."
Ace grabbed Ashan's hand and shook it firmly. "It's nice to finally meet you! The last time I resided in Jamilla I wasn't able to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too! Did you just arrive a moment ago?" Ashan noticed Ace had darker rich skin with bright blue teal eyes. The man had a strong build and was tall. "May I ask where you're from?"
Ace laughed. "Ah yes...I'm from Maua. It is a queendom in the warmest continent, but we have beautiful weather. The queendom is named after flowers because we harbor beautiful plants. Maua isn't as known compared to Jamilla and Gaia because we haven't really sought out foreign trading."
"I've heard of Maua since a few of my friends have traveled there! I received the painting of the Golden Palace. It had such interesting architecture. What's your position in the queendom?" Ashan seemed intrigued because he had puppy dog-like charisma when speaking to Ace.
"I recently became a duke in the queendom due to my efforts of bettering Maua. I'm the person in charge of seeking resources for my country and creating foreign allies." Ace moved his leg over another and leaned forward. "Some would say I'm the best in my queendom."
Ace and Ashan began to laugh simultaneously. Eleanor smiled because she saw the two were getting on quite well. For the rest of the night, the trio laughed and talked.
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